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Camera head to head: Lumia 950 vs Sony Xperia XZ Premium

Guest writer Matthew Weflen is back, this time with a phone camera shootout between the mighty Lumia 950 and the brand new Sony Xperia XZ Premium, the top of the line in Sony's Android line-up - has Sony finally managed to fix its imaging woes? (Certainly Matthew hopes so, since he's considering jumping ship to Android with it.) Anyway, let's find out.

Matthew writes:

Astute AAWP readers may recall my previous guest shootout, the Lumia 950 vs the Sony Xperia XA1. The XA1 is Sony’s mid-range phone for 2017. Well, I liked the overall phone experience quite a bit with that hardware, and so was hankering for a more “premium” camera experience. Which led me to the coincidentally named Xperia XZ Premium. This is Sony’s flagship for 2017.

Released in June of 2017, the XZ Premium is powered by Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 835 SoC and 4GB of RAM. The camera module is also Sony’s newest, dubbed “Motion Eye”. This moniker probably refers to the camera’s ability to take 960FPS slow motion video as well as its fancy moving laser focus adjustments. But the sensor itself has some noteworthy features. It is a “stacked memory” chip, with RAM sandwiched in between the CMOS and control circuitry layers for faster processing (which is what allows the aforementioned motion features). The sensor is 19 megapixels and sized at 1/2.3”, and with a f/2.0 aperture 25mm lens. This means that the XZ Premium has larger pixels than Sony’s prior mobile cameras, with fewer pixels occupying the same space. Will this lead to improved low-light performance? We shall see. It will again do battle with the Lumia 950’s 20-megapixel sensor, sized at 1/2.4”, with a f/1.9 aperture 26mm lens. The Lumia 950 has physical Optical Image Stabilization, while the XZ Premium does not, opting again for Qualcomm’s digital “EIS” solution instead.

So let’s start snapping and pit the results against each other, using the Famed Interactive Comparator (FIC, as no one ever calls it!) All shots were taken on auto settings at full resolution, and cropped to 900x500 for close up “pixel peeping” comparisons.

Note that the interactive comparator below uses javascript and does need to load each pair of images. Please be patient while this page loads, if you see a pair of images above each other than you've either not waited long enough or your browser isn't capable enough! You ideally need a powerful, large-screened tablet or a proper laptop or desktop. This comparator may not work in some browsers. Sorry about that. On Windows 10 Mobile, use the 'AAWP Universal' UWP app, which handles the comparator very competently (see the tips in the app's help screens).

TEST 1: STILL LIFE WITH GOOD INDOOR LIGHT

I enjoyed creating a still life on my kitchen counter for my last shootout, so I did again here. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

The 950 ekes out just a bit more detail in the shot overall. You can see differences in the dollar bills and in the grill of the blue toy car. But both cameras do a very good job overall. The Lumia 950 renders everything with a warmer tone, which in fact is a bit too warm compared to the real scene to my eyes. The XZ Premium image has a bit more digital noise. This isn’t necessarily all bad, as it does render detail such as the glittery flecks on the green car. But I think this one goes to the 950 by a nose.

Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZP: 8 pts

TEST 2: INDOOR MONEY MACRO

I decided to again get closer to the highly detailed paper currency in order to text detail levels. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

This one seems like a complete wash to me. The 950 and the XZ Premium both deliver tremendous detail in the portrait images, and while the XZ Premium shot does a bit better with the delicate cross-hatching on the “white” background of the top bill, the 950 better renders the color difference on the bronze “bell.” I think these images are different but evenly matched for quality.

Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZP: 9 pts

TEST 3: DAYLIGHT OCEAN SCENE

I purchased the XZ Premium just before embarking on a brief vacation to the Atlantic coast of the US State of Maine. I took a bunch of shots on the rocky beach, including this one of a fisherman casting off of a rocky wave break. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, and rotated to fit here, but you'll get the idea from the crops and the downloaded JPGs:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

The 950, as per usual, renders things far too warmly. The XZ Premium’s color reflects better what I saw with my eyes. Level of detail on the rocks and the fisherman is even. I do think the 950 does a slightly better job on the distant ocean waves, with the XZ Premium’s shot looking just a tad noisy in those regions. All told, these are both superior shots (if I do say so myself) taken in ideal smartphone conditions. But detail is detail, and the 950 takes it by a nose yet again.

Lumia 950: 10 pts; Sony XZP: 9 pts

TEST 4: DAYLIGHT BERRY MACRO

For an outdoor macro shot, I found some berry plants just a bit inland from the ocean. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, and rotated to fit here, but you'll get the idea from the crops and the downloaded JPGs:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

This is an interesting case of two phones with different software approaches. Is one better? It’s hard to say, as again these are ideal conditions. The blurred “Bokeh” effect on the surrounding foliage is a bit digital on the XZ Premium, indicating some digital sharpening. But I can’t really object to the berries themselves, as there is some stunning detail on the individual fuzzy berry stems. The 950 renders the surrounding leaves in a less noisy way, but also doesn’t deliver as much detail in the central area of the shot. Both are highly pleasing shots when viewed in total, and only “pixel peeping” makes these differences apparent.

Lumia 950: 9 pts; Sony XZP: 8 pts

TEST 5: CEMETERY STATUE, DAPPLED LIGHTING

All right, let’s stop messing around on the easy stuff. Seeking a more challenging scene, I shot in a shady cemetery in the Boston area loaded with famous old dead people. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, and rotated to fit here, but you'll get the idea from the crops and the downloaded JPGs:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

The color rendering on these shots was surprising to me. Instead of veering warm, here the 950 delivers a cooler shot than the XZ Premium! Which, I hate to say, is still wrong – in this case, the real world scene was richer with brown and yellow shades, as the XZ Premium renders it. Interestingly, the 950 had a tough time nailing the focus on the statue as well – this was the best of at least 5 shots I took, kneeling with the cameras stabilized on my knee. The XZ Premium really nails it here, with tight focus and accurate colors. Even the surrounding tree leaves look a bit better, which is typically a strength of the Lumia line and a weakness for Sony. The XZ Premium renders crisper detail on the stone monument, with easier to read writing. There is just a bit of noise which is only evident at “pixel peeping” distances.

Lumia 950: 8 pts; Sony XZP: 9 pts

TEST 6: RESTAURANT EXTERIOR AT NIGHT

Three straight days of lobster dinners had me in the mood for meat and potatoes upon my return to Chicago. So I headed to a venerable German establishment, Laschet’s, for a late evening meal. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, and rotated to fit here, but you'll get the idea from the crops and the downloaded JPGs:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

I stabilized both phones on the side of a tree to give both cameras their best possible chance with this difficult night shot. The 950 has an admirable dynamic range, showing detail on the bright elements of the shot like the yellow sign and the light sconces without washing them out. But you know what? For a smartphone camera lacking OIS, the XZ Premium does a surprisingly good job, almost keeping pace with the level of detail on things like the table umbrella, the neon “Stiegl” sign in the window. The 950 wins it, but not in a runaway fashion.

Lumia 950: 8 pts; Sony XZP: 7 pts

TEST 7: BRATWURST PLATE

For better or worse, restaurant food macros are a fixture of smartphone photography. But in dim light, as I had inside Laschet’s, getting a good snap can be a challenge. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, and rotated to fit here, but you'll get the idea from the crops and the downloaded JPGs:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Knowing that the XZ Premium lacks OIS, I braced each camera on the table in front of my plate of bratwurst, sauerkraut, and potato salad. It should be obvious from the shots that the XZ Premium features better contrast and color, with the 950 appearing a tad washed out. Both show admirable detail for such tough lighting. The 950’s shot is less noisy, and as such has slightly more detail on small areas like the glass label. But the XZ Premium renders the food better, so I think overall this is a wash. Is all of this starting to sound familiar?

Lumia 950: 7 pts; Sony XZP: 7 pts

TEST 8: CHICAGO RIVER AT NIGHT, SHOT FROM TRAIN WINDOW

This one is really interesting, and was by far the greatest challenge for each camera – shooting from a moving train into a night-time scene with little light. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Both cameras struggled with focus, given the low overall light available. Both phones were braced on the bottom rim of the train window, pressed up against the glass so as to avoid undue reflections. Both phones took ten or more shots as my train crossed the bridge, and at least 7 from each were unacceptably blurry. But I was able to get pretty good shots from this vantage point with both. As you can see from the people and cars in the image, these shots were taken within a half second of each other. I was really surprised how much better the XZ Premium captured fine detail in such dark conditions. Look at the lighted signs and clocks on the buildings! Contrast was also excellent, rendering the water an inky black, which is how it appeared to the eye. This was the best shot from both phones by a fair margin.

The 950 shot is much brighter, indicating to me that something is going on in software. Overall focus is mushy, and the various lighted signs are mostly illegible. Please do check out the whole shots, as the level of detail across the frame is really remarkable from the XZ Premium. This one shocked me, but I think the XZ Premium is the pretty clear winner.

Lumia 950: 6 pts; Sony XZP: 8 pts

TEST 9: CHICAGO THEATER

Another tough shot, of a brightly lit sign at night. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, and rotated to fit here, but you'll get the idea from the crops and the downloaded JPGs:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

Again I braced each camera on a lamp post in order to give each one its best shot. The 950 excels yet again with dynamic range. Looking at the areas around the tiny light bulbs in the sign, there is an indication of the shadow behind each bulb. The XZ Premium renders each bulb as a more uniform colored light. With that said, check out the round stained glass window at the center of the building. The XZ Premium does a really admirable job of pulling out good, contrasty detail. Below the marquee, the cars and people are similar in terms of level of detail, with the 950 rendering things more smoothly, the XZ Premium more noisily. Both are excellent shots in difficult conditions, though, and I have a hard time assigning the win to one over the other, because they have differing strengths.

Lumia 950: 7 pts; Sony XZP: 7 pts

TEST 10: SIMULATED PARTY SHOT, LOW LIGHT WITH FLASH

Ah, the venerable “simulated party” shot, a real torture test for smartphones. Here is the whole scene, as presented by the Lumia 950, and rotated to fit here, but you'll get the idea from the crops and the downloaded JPGs:

In case you want to grab the original images to do your own analysis, here they are, from the Lumia 950 and Xperia XZ Premium, click the links to download. And to look at the images in more detail, here are fairly central 1:1 crops, just wait to make sure the page has fully loaded and then use your mouse or trackpad pointer to compare the images:

These shots were taken handheld on automatic setting, with flash enabled. Both shots look pretty bad, as expected. The XZ Premium shot washes me out significantly (which is saying something), and the contrast level and digital noise on my face ends up looking rather cartoonish at pixel peeping distances. With that said, the XZ Premium did a far better job over ten straight shots of freezing motion (check out the beer bottle), despite having only one LED to the 950’s three. Weird! The 950’s shot had better coloration and detail (as in the framed photo in the background, taken with my beloved 1020), with the exception of the aforementioned moving beer bottle label. And so I give this one to the 950 by a nose, beer label notwithstanding.

Lumia 950: 5 pts; Sony XZP: 4 pts

VERDICT

Lumia 950: 78/100pts

Sony XZ Premium: 76/100pts

The XZ Premium came much closer to the 950 than its midrange stable mate the XA1 did. Despite lacking OIS, it delivered consistently better contrast and color than the 950. At social media viewing distances, this would probably make the XZ Premium the winner to most eyes. The 950 excels at dynamic range and post processing, which means that upon very close inspection, photos will often look just slightly better than the XZ Premium. Sony’s penchant for digital noise and aggressive sharpening has been tamed to a noticeable degree, but it still remains and could be improved further.

When all is said and done, I think the XZ Premium performs like a flagship, as does the 950. I really pushed these cameras, and they both struggled where even the best small-lensed smartphone cameras frequently fall down. But Sony’s larger pixels helped it stay in the race, I think.

This is the first camera phone in my arsenal that makes me feel OK leaving the 950 on the shelf. Apple’s iPhone 7, Huawei’s Honor 5X, and Sony’s Xperia XA1 all failed to get this close. But the XZ Premium, with its superior CPU horsepower, slow motion and 4K video capabilities, and full-bodied Android ecosystem (albeit running the W10M-style Square Home 2 app launcher, as shown below) is definitely a better all-around smartphone, even if the camera is very slightly outclassed.

And so I consider myself entirely jumped from the W10M ship onto the SS Android. I’ll be sticking with the XZ Premium as my daily driver for the long haul. I’ll be looking with interest at what Microsoft cooks up with its Surface/Andromeda/Rainbow Unicorn projects (I made that last one up!), but I have my doubts that they will even try to reclaim their now dusty imaging crown from current competitors.